Levine: Cubs' Kyle Schwarber Ignores Trade Rumors During Recovery
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As Cubs second-year pro Kyle Schwarber continues his intense rehab from knee surgery, he also fends off the rumor mill flying in his direction daily.
Over the past three months since he went down with a season-ending ACL and LCL injury, the 23-year-old Schwarber has heard his name attached to media rumors of an impending deal. The Cubs are ready to shop at the deadline, and sellers are looking for a big haul in Schwarber.
"I don't pay much attention to it," Schwarber said. "You have to know in your own mind, rumors are rumors. I will worry about being a Cub. I can't worry about that stuff. Here is what I can worry about -- worry about my rehab, being a Cub and worry about this team going to the World Series. Until something happens physically, you can't worry about it."
Schwarber has a full range of motion in his injured knee. He's off of crutches and doing low- impact walking and rehab in the swimming pool for now. Schwarber will see his doctor next week as a follow-up to his surgery that followed in short order after the injury. He was lost for the season after a bad collision with teammate Dexter Fowler in the outfield in Phoenix on April 7.
Schwarber is appreciative of the support from the Cubs for saying they have no plans of trading him anytime in the future. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has been outspoken in his desire for Schwarber to stay in Chicago.
"It is obviously nice that they feel that way about me," he said. "I love this organization and this team. I want to stay here. Obviously, these things are out of my control. Since Theo did say that, I take that to heart. It means a lot."
Last season, Schwarber joined the Cubs after just a year in the minor leagues. He made an instant impact, hitting 16 home runs and knocking in 43 runs. Schwarber then hit a Cubs postseason record five home runs in the team's run to the NLCS.
Schwarber isn't expected back until spring training of 2017. Knowing his work ethic, he will push himself to get back in the fall.
"Now that you are hurt and not playing, you get the luxury of being on Twitter, I guess," Schwarber said. "You get more respect for the game while you are away from it. You really don't realize other things that are going on away from the game when you play every day. You are just focused on winning a ballgame."
The trade rumors regarding Schwarber began with an article on MLB.com talking about how a swap of him for Yankees setup man Andrew Miller would make sense for both teams.
Since that article was written, the story has taken on a life of its own in the land of Twitter and other sites. There have been many rumors surrounding Schwarber's potential to be moved.
Epstein told reporters last weekend in New York that he had no intention of moving Schwarber, the first-round pick from 2014 who the Cubs feel is an important piece to their future.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.